Ted's Borax & Peroxide Mange Treatment for Dogs

I am at my wit's end! Our 2.5 year old (street) dog has been chronically itchy for 5 months now. I put her on a raw, high protein diet about 4 months ago to try and cure it and she seem's quite healthy other than this incessant self-mutilation. Having been put on antibiotics for most of her young life by our original vet I decided to take her to a holistic vet who has put her on a TCM medicine (she didn't do any skin scrapings and didn't suggest it was mites)

She has now been taking the TCM (cooling medicine) for about a month with no real improvement. I then found Ted's cure and as her symptoms seem to be the same I decided to give it a go. I did the peroxide borax solution first and then as there was little improvement after a few days I used the vinegar borax solution and then again, a few days later, have just done a second peroxide/borax solution - all exactly as directed. Although the worst of it was on her hindquarters which at this stage seem a bit better although she is still chewing them a little when her cone is off, she is now attacking her neck viciously with her back paws (even when she is wearing a cone collar) and now has some awful infected lesions on her neck. IS THIS NORMAL???

I am really despairing and am under severe pressure to take her to a "normal" vet but am worried they will want to give her more antibiotics or even worse the awful chemical dips. Please, can those of you who have done the Ted's cure tell me if this reaction is normal ? thanks you in advance for any input you can give!

The borax solution is not toxic and is safe for your dog to lick and to use around the face and eyes.

Thank you so much for all your advice.

You can give your Pokie the spa treatment; massage olive oil into his coat and let him sit for 15 minutes, and then bath; do this inbetween mange treatment baths. Just do 1 shampoo after the oil treatment and towel really well - he will be oily, so towel well but do NOT get all the oil off; he will keep until the next bath/mange treatment.

I would also give him oils in his food - 1 teaspoon olive oil in his food am and pm; you can upgrade to higher quality oils like evening primrose oil or salmon oil, etc. -but in a pinch olive oil works well.

I only really posted this because I am:

A) trying this out and saw an improvement in my dogs stress level,

B) I can unfortunately personally attest to the wonders of NEEM and borax (I use the old time laundry soap). I am a nature photographer and have had skin problems my doctor had no actual diagnosis for. Neem is only to soothe and act as an antifungal, Tee tree oil is also good as an anti - bacterial. I HIGHLY recommend Diatomaceous Earth (food grade)in your pets food. I just started my girl on it. I have it because I use it. The benefits for skin and bones is great.

I can tell you this..I dont suffer from skin issues anymore. My dog won't either once I figure out how to balance all of this..its just about your pets balance and using natural remedies to help them.

There are two main types of mites in dogs - demodextic and sarcoptic. Demodex mites are typically associated with puppies under a year of age, and of older dogs that have a serious health issue. Demodex is not contagious, but sarcoptic mange IS - both to dogs and to humans. Sarcoptic mange mites can be picked up from wildlife - by the animals themselves, or from their nesting areas and even poop. So for example if your pug frequents bunny nests, catches and eats bunnies or rolls in bunny poop, then he may have been exposed to sarcoptic mites.

What can be more often confused as mites and is more common are fleas; I would think if your dog had fleas you would find them in your frequent baths, however.

The bumps on the back of the head to me sound like allergy hives. You might try adding a good sprinkle of turmeric to your boy's food am and pm to help with the inflammation associated with allergies. The addition of baking soda to his drinking water may also prove helpful by alkalizing his system and balancing his PH.

If you are online you can access Polish language translators to help with the vocabulary to see if you can get the borax et all you are looking for:

http://imtranslator.net/translation/english/to-polish/translation/

I would discontinue mixing the cider into the vinegar and just use the vinegar as it is. If rinsing your spritzing your boy with the vinegar is providing relief, continue to do so to help keep the itching at bay.

Part of stopping the itching is identifying the trigger - is he reacting to pollens in the air, or dust or dirt or eating a certain food? If you can identify the trigger and avoid it, this will help. Some folks use OTC allergy meds with good effect - something to consider.

Also, it never hurts to give your dog a thorough brushing. Brushing will remove the dandruff, stimulate the skin and distribute the natural oils in the coat. Brush regularly to monitor the dandruff for improvement. Consider adding oils to Hugo's diet to improve dry skin.

Please report back what the vet finds out about mites!

I a new here and need some help please.

I have a black pug Hugo who is 3 years old and started having dandruff and loads of it about a month ago. I changed the shampoo after a vet visit to a higher sensitive skin approach and still the dandruff remained and actually got a lot worse. He does not have any hair missing yet and also no actual bloody areas (thank God!! ), but he has small bumps on his head and neck which he scratches constantly. I went back to the vet and they took a scraping as based on my research and the causes of dandruff are several including some mites. They said he is not presenting these so just keep bathing him which, sadly, I did only to actually make things worse for Hugo ( I used to bathe him once a month and we got to even twice a week! ). I came across this treatment and since, I live in Poland with no Polish language skills, I was not able to find ACV, borax or the peroxide, only ACV separately: apple cider and apple vinegar. After some research I mixed the two and I use a cloth to wash him down and have done so for the last three days. He is happier a bit and the scratching diminished but still there. Same with the dandruff. Once I wash him down they both go away, however back by morning... I went to another vet to ask for a more thorough mite investigation and will have the results next week, however if anyone can help, both Hugo and I will remain forever grateful.

If you bath the dog & use the solution then dry him with a towel you have rubbed all the effective-ness off. He must air dry or go roll in his bedding to dry off. Some people have seen results in small breeds in days. Others who may not saturate a large breed might take weeks to see results. Other variables are how dense they made "their" product. Or How bad was their dog's infection in the first place. Is the infected dog secluded or does he run with other infected animals? With all of those variables no one could say: This WILL heal every dog in three weeks.

It works. Spray bottle works best for me to saturate because my dog is as big as I am & hates the tub. Also, you can use benadryl for itching or meclazine (over the counter motion sickness pill) for itching.

When I see posts about mange from Florida my first thought is FLEAS and not mange; have you ruled fleas out?

The kind of mange your dog could catch from around the pool would be sarcoptic mange; these might hide out in bunny or squirrel poop or the live critters; do you see vermin in your yard, and has Bruzor caught any vermin? If no, then you might consider fleas, or a skin infection caused by a damp coat that doesn't get fully dried after a swim.

Ted's mange remedy will help in either case but if it is fleas you will need to treat your yard - consider a cedar granule type product in that case.

1. What is the duration of the applications I should follow (confused by multiple users having it differently)

2. What can I do additionally to relieve my dog of his skin itchiness while continuing with the borax treatment. Maybe the skin spots are forming by his biting his skin.

Thanks everyone for sharing this treatment info. Like other users I have had to take my dog (1 yr old Pitbull mix) to the vet multiple times for demodectic mange and have tried ivermectin, lime sulphur dips, mitaban dips (mitaban has been effective but seems to come back after 2 weeks) but everything has been a temporary relief for him till now (since the last 8 months). I have also put him on grain free diet just to rule out any allergies.

Dr. Bronner's soap, the original one with Tea Tree in it, use as body/hand wash as well as shampoo. Allow it to sit on your skin/hair for a bit before washing it off.

Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, use a bit after washing body/hair, again let it sit for a bit. ACV internally, I use tablets as nobody in my family can stand the taste.

Garlic and/or Oregano suppliments. Clay detox.

I washed our dog's towels in hot, hot water with borax and peroxide, let it sit all soapy for a bit drying on a hot cycle. I used diatomatious earth on his dog bed in between washings, also a bit on his kibble. I adopted a pit bull mix, sweetest dog in the world, who suffered with horrific mange. Poor thing looked like someone had poured hot bacon grease over his back the mange was so bad and the pads of his feet would swell up twice the normal size and he could hardly walk. After literally spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars in vet bills, prescription shampoo that was so harsh it irritated his already tender skin, multiple antibiotics, cancer drugs (really! ! ), diet restrictions and more,all with NO actual effect on the mange at all, just my bank drained account, a well paid vet and a very, very miserable dog, I was at my witts end.

My husband was using Dr. Bronner's soap and I thought that since the problem was due to mites, they probably wouldn't want to be "minty fresh" from the soap or to be "pickled" by the ACV. Bingo! It worked like a charm! Finally after years and years of suffering he was "cured" and he loved, loved his bath time! Sadly he passed due to diabetes. I'm convinced that his immune system was so damaged due to chronic mange problems. Hope this helps you all and good luck!

ps--I also put Borax and Peroxide in my pets water. Thanks!

After reading blogs in this God-sent website I realized the symptoms and descriptions from other people pointed at skin parasites like Scabies. We have two other dogs and they seem to be unaffected so I'm not sure what's going on there. All our dogs are inside dogs but only Wallace was affected... People talked about diets so much, but we cook for our dogs and supplement his diet with Professional formula of the Missing Link. Recently we have been giving them plain greek yogurt with penut butter/chia seeds and flax seed oil. (they love it). However, for many months they have been getting vitamin E and Fish oil supplements yet the skin problem in Wallace was still there...

Anyways, I was treating this problem with all kinds of topical oils (avocado, pure vitamin E, coconut oil, jojoba oil), itch-relievers, and nothing worked until last night. I ordered the supplies from amazon after reading several opinions in this forum. This is what I did: I wetted Wallace with warm water, then I applied a Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca) shampoo + orange oil. I massaged that into his skin then I rinsed it off with Ted's Fantastic Miracle Borax Solution (1L water: 0.5L hydrogen peroxide: 3 tablespoons of Borax). I made him a total of 3 L of solution. after that I rinsed it off with warm water. I toweled him dry and just observed.... THE ITCHING WAS GONE!!! Even Wallace seemed surprised by it bc I think since this itching has been going on for so long, he turned like he was going to bite his back but then he realized it wasn't itching. He slept like a baby. I'm so grateful.... Our lives are blessed by this miracle remedy<3 <3 I will keep doing this 3 times per week until everything is gone. Thank you all so much.

@ Ted: I can't thank you enough. God bless you for sharing this with the rest of us.!!! Also, I want to share that before I did the Borax/hydrogen peroxide bath, I bathed Wallace with Tea Tree oil shampo and pure tea tree oil on his skin. that seemed to help him quite a bit more than the other stuff I've used before, but it was not until last night that I saw a breakthrough. Thank you all <3

Not Ted here, but in case he doesn't visit this thread I am offering advice.

You do not say which mange mite your dog has - demodectic or sarcoptic; I will assume demodectic as your vet would have advised you of the highly contagious nature of sarcoptic mange. Thus if your dog has demodectic mange mites you and your cat have a 99.99999999% chance of contracting them. I really doubt your cat is suffering the same affliction as your dog. Weight loss is not a typical symptom of demodectic mange - however it is the sign of other disease conditions such as diabetes and renal disease. My advice to you is to take your cat to your vet - do it now before it is an emergency. If you wait until it becomes an emergency it will be a far more expensive bill, and your options will be drastically limited- JMHO.

Good luck with your kitty and please keep us posted on your dog.

You can give your dog Evening Primrose oil - 1 capsule in the food am and pm to help with the dry skin. You can also use a moisturizing shampoo on alternate days from the mange dip.

I have used the mange dip many times and my dogs have never had any issues with licking the remedy up!

I feel your frustration :-(

At this point I have to question if you got the diagnosis of demodex from your vet; did they do a scraping to confirm? Demodex mites are difficult to find in a healthy dog - you literally have to put the dog in a blender and then spin the results in a centerfuge to find mites in a healthy dog. In a dog dealing with demodex mite overgrowth due to health complications, the mites are easier to find on a simple scrape. Lots of times a dog with demodex will develop black-head type pimples- this before they get really bad. Did Zeus have the black-head pimples - or has it always been just itching and scales and hair loss?

From this end of the keyboard it sounds as if you are either dealing with a very resistant strain of demodex mite - which is possible, OR you are dealing with atopic dermatitis, which is a genetic disease that shows up right around 6 months of age, can be linked to seasonal allergy season, and just keeps getting worse each year.

I just had a friend PTS her French bulldog due to atopic dermatitis - he was only 6 years old in a breed that lives 8+ years. The allergies came on each spring, then spring and mid-winter during thaws, and then it was constant. Steroid shots were effective the first few years, but then they became a constant and she simply could not keep up with the constant bathing and the dog was miserable. I wish I had had a chance to work on this dog, but I respect her choice as the dog's owner and caretaker that she made the best decision.

Discuss these possibilities with your vet. The only additional supplements I can see that might apply are colostrum - an immune builder, and quercetin and/or yucca for inflamation.

If this were my dog I would bite the bullet and get the steroid shot; this will break the cycle of itching and give the skin a chance to heal. The steroid shot wears off 4-6 weeks, and the initial reaction to the shot is usually panting when it is not warm [think lady going through menopause! ] and then increased thirst and appetite. Some do not like these reactions at all, but it is just what the shot does, and I have found it helpful in getting on top of an allergy break out. You can stop the mange remedy dips and just use the staph treatment in a spritz bottle for the hot spots. Once the skin is calm and healing I would continue with the health and immune supplements and then try to figure out what is causing the flare ups, and then come up with a plan to nip any flare ups in the bud when they first appear.

If your vet strongly feels it is NOT atophy, and the feeling is still demodex, then Ivermectin may apply - along with several other miticides your vet may recommend. I would avoid mitaban dips - although vets I respect swear by them I just can't see treating my dog with a chemical I need to wear gloves to apply.

Read up on atopic dermatitis:

http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/integumentary_system/atopic_dermatitis/canine_atopic_dermatitis.html

Please report back!

He is on a raw veggie, lightly steamed meat and fish diet, tripe too, With various oils added to his food including coconut oil and coconut water. He is taking probiotics, multivitamins, immune boosters, enzymes, vitamin c. He also did 5 days of antibiotics for his infection. I've also added Borax to his water and recently ACV. NOTHING seems to be working. I've applied cocunut oil to his fur, Neoosporin to his cuts from scratching. ACV I recently have started spraying him

This has been going on since before Thanksgiving. I did see some improvement for about a week and it started off much "milder" then it is now.

He also has been to the vet and is going again tomorrow. What am I missing?

Demodectic mange is typically a puppy affliction and when seen in mature or senior animals is typically associated with another underlying condition, ie hypothyroid, cancer, etc.

From what you describe it sounds as if your dog has a skin allergy or has hives due to an allergic reaction to something - be it food, contact or airborne allergy.

Ways to fight allergies might be oral supplementation with colostrum to build the immune system, along with yucca or quercetin to reduce inflamation; these supplements need time to work so you may have to feed ongoing and it may take 6 weeks to see results.

Another approach might be alkalizing your dog's drinking water; 1 teaspoon baking soda to 1 quart of water is a typical starting dose.

Because you are getting results with your aggressive bathing regime once you have achieved the healing you are after, for NEXT TIME consider using Ted's Anti-fungal/Anti-staph dip at the first onset of the hives and see if just using that does the trick.

This last time when the bumps returned she had been in fabulous shape for about a month. I was so happy.

I got up one morning and all was fine and that night I could see bumps and lots of them. I thought about all the natural treatments out there and came up with a plan.

I got up the next morning and began the routine that I have been following now for a week and a half.

I bath her with Benzoyl Peroxide on Saturday and after lathering her up I leave it sit on her for 5 minutes. It is pretty strong and drying so, then the next day is an off day. Monday I give her ACV rinse and thoroughly soak her and not use a towel to dry her. Tuesday is the Peroxide/Borax day. Wednesday is an off day. Thursday and Friday she gets ACV soak down.

I have seen this most recent round on her break down and such a vast improvement over prior episodes and this time there is speed to visible improvement. I will continue with this schedule until all is cleared up and then for 30-45 days after I see complete healing.

If me, and I have used it with success is

1 Ted's Mange Treatment

2 Ted's anti staph solution for spraying

3 ACV on wash cloth improving the ph

4 The best : UT = your own best body blue print medicine.

5 Last NOT least, Turmeric. Dry powder

Turmeric is a natural anti biotic, excellent for skin and new blood which has largely healed my big dog's entire back which was bloody and infected. My belief is that allopathic antibiotics become precurser for candida and then cancer

My big dog had red mange and I used an essential orange oil household cleaner, spraying. It worked super well. Also, it kills fleas and keeps the skin soft.

ACV as a spray kills fleas well and you can soon see them dead all over which I did not suspect at first. But one needs to spray this at least twice a day, not so with TIKO orange spray which I think is the best but I like to use a multi pronged approach. And ACV is important as it changes the skin ph. You dilute ACV as the dog can handle.

The very best is which people shun but believe me, it is a divine remedy which is God's gift, used all over the world. On him I have used mine and he liked that. But I want to find a long handled 2nd hand pot to take his which is best. But both work. Fresh urine is sterile and does not have an odour. It heals every thing and you can research that.

I still have mites. The last lot from a garment at a big store in Canada. I have soaked a soft terry cloth and used fresh "Manava Mutra" for a month and keep at it as there is far less problem. Also :Shivambhu" as it is called in India, is the answer to all human and animal troubles, cleaning the aura which holds the roots of diseases physically and mentally. Moreover the skin will glow and be beautiful.

Anyway, this is my way and I wish you both all the best success. Namaste Om

Your first post was 1/29 and you had been attempting to home treat for a few months; have you seen *any* improvement after using Ted's remedy? Often times bad cases appear to get much worse due to a rapid die off of the mites, but then there is an uptick and things clearly improve- have you seen any signs of improvement/lack of itching/healing of the red bumps?

IMHO if you have not seen any kind of improvement it might be time to throw in the towel and use the Ivermectin approach. While this is not my first approach, when you have super resistant mites I would not hesitate to go this route.

Are you dosing the antibiotics under the guidance of your vet?

You might find slathering the paw with topical antibiotic and wrapping it in gauze and then put a human sock over the paw, and a few inches of duct tape to secure the sock in place [careful not to bind or get too tight] and leaving that on for several hours under observation - or overnight if your dog won't chew the bandage off - might give the paw the break from licking that it needs to get some healing done. If that didn't do it I would consult my vet.

You may find Ted's borax protocol helpful to get a leg up on the internal yeast:

Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 12/12/2014

"The borax dose is the same regardless of the weight of dogs. In the end small dogs drink less than large dogs. The only difference is the sex of dogs which the female dog requires half the dosages male dogs.

So a female dog is always 1/8 teaspoon per liter dose. And male dogs is 1/4 teaspoon per liter water. Weight is irrelevant.

Timing:
Borax dosage for 1 week. Then 1/2 dosage in week 2. Stop for 1 week. Resume.

or

Borax dosage for 4 days, then no borax/water for 3 to 4 days. Continue on/off schedule until ailment clears."

You can do the mange dip - and by this time you should only be doing 1 dip per week - and then follow up with the staph remedy in a spritzer bottle to spot treat affected areas without having to dip the entire dog.

Demodex dogs above all else need good groceries and supplements for immune support. Make sure you are not feeding a grocery store brand high in grains and food dyes and sugar. You might find supplementing with colostrum of additional benefit, along with vitamin C and echinacea/golden seal - discuss with your holistic vet.

Lastly, consider a high quality lavendar essential oil - dilute with pure water and put in a spritzer bottle to both spritz the skin for calming, and for the soothing effects from inhaling the fragrant air.

His hair growth has not started...he looks just awful. Patience is not my strong suit. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Yes, Sarcoptic Mange affects humans. I began fostering a dog a year ago. She was underweight and very itchy. It took three vets for a correct diagnosis, and a fourth for successful treatment.

Meanwhile, I had bites on my arms and my scalp was crawling. Our daughter had bites on her face. My husband had bites on his legs. We kept being told that the canine variant of the scabies bug can't complete its lifecycle on humans. Well, I can tell you from personal experience that that is not true! There have been documented cases. But for some reason, they're not talked about in the medical or veterinary communities.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21540570

It's been a year and I'm still fighting the mites on me and my family. Keeping the dog away from everyone has helped them. But I continue to have problems, probably because I still take care of the dog.

We were all cured on Thanksgiving, but the little bastards came back by Christmas. Dog is back on Revolution every two weeks. But we humans continue to struggle with the bugs. For me, its a daily battle. For the others, just an occasional annoyance.

So far, we've had improvement (but no cure) from Neem Oil, Ivermectin (orally and topically), and Permethrin (topically). I just started the Borax and H2O2, so the jury is still out on that one. It seems promising, though. (The others did, too, so I've become very skeptical.)

I hope for your family's sake that you got it under control and they're okay. Because it's awful, really it is.

Thank you so much.

My internet connection is terrible right now else I would find the Anti-fungal/Anti-staph remedy for you, but if you just do a search for it, or look at 'recent pet posts' and just scroll down and flip back a few pages it is plastered everywhere :-)

In your shoes I would NOT use the castor oil on the chin; if you strongly feel it is indicated use it sparingly as I find it as strong as pure tea tree oil.

The sulpher and silica may be working, but keep in mind that the mites have a certain life cycle so you will need to treat long term no matter the route.

If you are working with a holistic vet then keep them informed of your results; my experience with the mange remedy is that the dogs always leave the tub happy, and that the skin can appear worse before it gets better. 1 dip every other day for a total of 3 dips the first week should be enough - and then once per week thereafter for 12 weeks should do it. Dipping more often may dry out the skin. The anti-fungal/anti-staph remedy can be applied to affected areas on days that you do not dip with the mange remedy - JMHO.

I have been working with a homeopathic vet who has been trying remedies of sulfur and silca, but not sure they are working. We have currently stopped remedies. Also, Zeus (my pup) is on a raw diet and taking a Number of vitamins and oils. I hesitate to use antibiotics because it is thought that prescription drugs Zeus took for worms, when he was very young, and vaccines, is what got us here in the first place....weakened immune system.

So, I think I will continue the borax/perioxide baths every other day and borax in his drinking water. The anti-fungal...paste (if I can find the recipe) Neosporin on his chin and coconut oil or castor oil on his dry skin until I see some major improvement. Does that sound right?

Again thank you for all your help. What a valuable resource you all are. Best, k

The *signs* that the remedy is working is a relaxed and happy dog. When I have dipped my dogs -either to treat for mange or as a 'go to first' dipping solution for dogs with skin issues, my dogs are always happy and energetic after a dip, and they are not itchy.

From what you describe it sounds like your dog has a secondary skin infection going on, particularly as you have been using the dip for a week now and have no obvious improved results.

If this were my dog I would head to the vet and get a prescription of antibiotics to deal with the staph infection that is going on. If that is out of the question, then I would consider Ted's Borax protocol for pets to fight the yeast from the inside out, as well as Ted's Anti-fungal/Anti-staph remedy to knock down the infection on the skin topically.

I would next consider the diet; if the brand you are feeding has grains in it, it is time to change the diet to a grain free brand.

Since you have been dealing with this for several months, keep in mind it will take time for your dog to heal. When I have treated generalized demodex in a puppy of similar age it took 12 weeks to fully resolve- and this without complications from a secondary skin infection.

You can help your dog's immune system by adding vitamin C to the diet, along with echinacea or golden seal to help fight infection. Supplementing Evening Primrose Oil in the kibble may help with dry skin. OTC products such as Neosporin may help with the raw chin.

If there is a chance that this is sarcoptic mange rather than demodex, you will also need to keep his bedding and living area sanitized regularly to prevent reinfection.

Please keep us posted!

I just wanted to point out that a benzoyle peroxide shampoo is not necessary as Ted's Mange Remedy is peroxide based; the peroxide does work as a penetrant and the borax acts as a miticide.

Additionally, demodex mites do not feed on carbs or yeast - they eat sebum/skin oil and skin cells/protien. The oatmeal shampoo is OK to use on irritated skin - and the use of Ted's Anti-fungal/Anti-staph remedy will also work at knocking down a secondary skin infection in dogs who are battling demodex.

Demodex mites will not return if the remedy is properly applied; if the mites do return, an underlying undiagnosed health condition is likely present.

A benzoyl peroxide shampoo that is antimicrobial will open the pores where the mites live and allow the borax solution to penetrate. Being antimicrobial will aid in keeping the yeast down. Most of these are soap free and moisturize the skin.

Wiping the dog down on non-dip days with a diluted betadine solution also keeps the secondary infection down. Using the solution twice a day is even better. Neem is quite helpful and most health food stores with a pet section will have neem products ready for use.

Demodex is tough and while the borax solution will kill the mites the dogs diet and stress has to be addressed so they do not return.

If you are dealing with demodectic mange then you don't need to worry about the environment as far as contamination.

If you are dealing with sarcoptic mange then those mites can live off the host in the environment long enough to infect another host. If you are dealing with sarcoptic mange I would sterilize the environment in conjunction with the dipping protocol for Ted's mange remedy - and also use diatomaceous earth to ensure no mites survive off the host in the environment.

If you are dealing with sarcoptic mange mites, then unless and until you can treat the entire dog you cannot obtain a full cure. Given that borax is hard to come by in your area, consider treating your dog for mange with powdered flower of sulpher mixed with coconut oil. The mange mite has a 3 week life span, and treatment - provided you can treat the entire dog each and every treatment - should be three times the first week, followed by once per week thereafter for a 12 week time span.

When dealing with sarcoptic mange you have to treat the entire house -and in particular the areas where your dog hangs out - to prevent your dog from becoming contaminated again [which sounds like what is going on ].

You may find the little borax you have put to better use in the water to help fight infection from the inside out.

Do NOT turn up your heating pad in an attempt to kill mites - it won't work, and blah, blah - you will burn your house down [seriously].

You might consider diatomaceous earth spread liberally around your house and in the pet areas, and on the pets as well; avoid inhaling and getting into eyes and mucous membranes, and if applied to the pets make sure you work it down to the skin.

I recently started adding a bit of coconut oil, both to work as a carrier oil to have the treatment solution more deeply penetrate the skin, as well as to add some moisturizing effects as I'm concerned about the effects of such frequent bathing drying out the skin (and we live in MN with cold dry air). I also added a bit of neem to the solution. In between treatments with Ted's solution, we've been putting diluted neem on the visible spots. Additionally we've been brushing his fur daily using a Zoom Broom, and brushing his teeth. Louie's kibble is already grain free and fairly high quality (can't quite afford the whole raw food diet thing). He's been getting 2x daily fish oil, and we also added a canine formulary nutritional supplement with pre and pro-biotics.

My question is how long to keep doing 2x weekly baths, and how to taper off. It seems to be working, but I am concerned about the drying effects on his skin. My gut is telling me that it is time to cut back to 1x weekly, seeing how he does, and if it still seems to be improving, then to cut back to 1x ~10 days, and keep cutting back from there, ie. 2 wks, monthly, quarterly? I haven't really been able to find guidelines for how to taper and when to stop all together.

I look forward to your feedback. Thank you.

Start here and keep reading :-)

https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/baking_soda.html

I have used the remedy many times and it is a winner for sure!

I do have to say, it sounds like you are dealing with fleas; I say this because both sarcoptic mange mites and demodectic mange mites can only be seen with a microscope. Fleas, on the other hand, are about the size of a pin head and black, and due to the areas they feed on - tail end - usually causes hair loss on the rump due to the dog chewing its skin to scratch the itch.

There is no harm in continuing using Ted's remedy, but you may have better luck using it at the correct strength; 48 oz of a 1% solution of hydrogen peroxide takes about 1 heaping cup of borax, so IMHO you are using way too little borax. Also it sounds as if you are using food grade H2O2, which the dime store variety will work just fine for the skin dip; the brown bottle is a 3% solution, so just dump it into the gallon jug and fill up the empty brown bottle twice to get 48oz of a 1% solution - and then just add your cup of borax.

Another thing to consider is a flea trap. All you need is a small desk lamp, place it on the floor in the dog's area and place a white plate under the lamp. Add water mixed with dish soap and turn the light on at night, then check for black specks in the morning. Move the trap from room to room to quickly clear out the fleas.

Good luck!

It occurred to me that you might have Chihuahuas and might not need 48 oz of solution :-)

The formula is this: 1% hydrogen peroxide + borax - you keep adding the borax until it stops melting/dissolving in the solution. This is called a 'saturated' solution where the liquid can take no more of the borax so it stops dissolving. As long as you add borax to the point that it no longer dissolves you don't need to worry so much about measuring it.

You make a 1% solution from the brown bottle from the grocery store - usually a 16 oz bottle of a 3% concentration of hydrogen peroxide - by adding 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 2 parts of water. So 1 cup of your 3% brown bottle solution to 2 cups water and you now have 3 cups of a 1% solution of hydrogen peroxide - and to this you add the borax.

Hope that helps!

The amount needed for 1 bath is the amount needed to fully saturate both your dogs to the skin!

I have a quantity of dog/s and this remedy is my 'go to' when any sort of skin issue arises; I have also used it to successfully resolve demodectic mange in a puppy.

What I do is get an empty plastic 1 gallon jug so I can mix up a big batch. I get 1 brown bottle [16 oz] of 3% peroxide from the grocery store - and I pour that into the jug. I then use the empty brown bottle and fill that up twice with water and dump that into the jug with the peroxide. This gives me 48 oz of a 1% solution of hydrogen peroxide. I then add 1 full cup of borax [from the laundry aisle at the grocery store - plain, not scented] and shake it up. What you want is there to be so MUCH borax in the jug that it stops dissolving, leaving grains swirling around in the bottom of the jug. If you have a big dog you can use two jugs and mix up a super big batch - just make as much as you have dog.

What I then do is fill the bath tub with warm water and sit the jugs in it and let them get warmed up. When the water is just right I bathe my dog with regular shampoo and rinse well, making sure I use my hands to squeegee excess water off. I then plug up the tub when it is empty, and them pour the solution from the jug over the dog. I then use a plastic cup to scoop up solution from the bottom of the tub and pour it over the dog again and again for 20-30 minutes. I have done 2-3 dogs at a time to make the most of the solution. I then crate the dog in an empty crate - no bedding to absorb the solution - and let the dog sit in the crate with a chewy for another half hour so the solution can continue to work. After half an hour I let them out, towel them dry and brush the grains of borax off of the fur. You may want to bump up the temp in the house or put the dogs in a room with a space heater so they do not take a chill.

I use the dip for mange every other day for a total of 3 dips for the first week, and then once per week for a total of 12 weeks.

Good luck!

this is the formula I used:

1 16 oz brown bottle of 3% solution hydrogen peroxide from grocery store.

I dumped that into a jug and then added 2 bottles of filtered tap water using the now empty brown bottle from the hydrogen peroxide, giving me 48 oz of 1% hydrogen peroxide solution.

1 16 oz brown bottle of 3% solution hydrogen peroxide from grocery store.

I dumped that into a jug and then added 2 bottles of filtered tap water using the now empty brown bottle from the hydrogen peroxide, giving me 48 oz of 1% hydrogen peroxide solution.

Now, into the jug full of 1% solution I add 1 full cup of borax [from the laundry aisle at the grocery store]. Shake it up - there should be so MUCH borax in the solution that some grains remain and do not dissolve.

I then fill my bath tub with very warm water and set the jug in the tub; by the time the tub cools down enough to comfortably bathe the dog, the contents of the jug are nicely warmed also. Now bathe the dog with the shampoo of your choice and then rinse all the shampoo out. I drain the tub and when all the shampoo and water have drained, I plug it up again so it will again hold water. Then I shake up the solution in the jug and pour it all over the dog. I then use a plastic cup to scoop up the solution in the bottom of the tub and then pour that over the dog. Do this again and again, re-wetting the dog with the grainy solution, for at least 10 minutes. Next part: do NOT rinse the solution off the dog. Take your sopping wet dog and put him in a crate with no bedding; you want as much solution to remain wet on the dog while he sits in the crate - give it another half an hour in the crate to allow the solution to 'work'. After half an hour I let my dog out and towel dry, and then let him shake the grains of borax out of his coat. It helps to turn the heat up in the house so the dog isn't freezing while sitting wet in the crate. I have doubled the batch of solution simply because its so inexpensive and it makes it easier to saturate a big dog.

You should dip your dog in this solution every other day - 2 to 3 times the first week; after the first week do once per week for 8 weeks.

Were all three pups scraped and diagnosed with demodex by the same vet? The two very different treatment methods suggest the 1 pup treated by your friend's vet was the traditional treatment, but the steroids/antibiotics/medicated shampoo route sounds as if your vet was treating for allergies. Unless your vet is totally incompetent [it happens], they treated your chugs for allergies because there was good reason to. So, be aware that your two keepers may have allergies along with demodex.

That said, if these were my puppies I would:

Check the groceries; switch to a grain free diet if you are not presently feeding a grain free diet. Consider supplementing with vitamin C [for immune support], Echinacea and Goldenseal [for infection].

Alkalize your dogs drinking water. All the dogs can drink this. Use 1 teaspoon of baking soda into 1 liter of water, and have this be their ONLY drinking water. If they avoid the water because it tastes funny, start out with a smaller dose; 1/4 baking soda to 1 liter of water for 3 days, then 1/2 for 3 days then bump up to 1 teaspoon and do that for 7 days. After 7 days you can go back down to a maintenance dose of 1/4 teaspoon per liter.

I would do the mange dip up to 3 times the first week, and then once per week after that, for the next 13 weeks. The reason for this bathing schedule is that the first 3 dips knock out the adult population of mites, so after that you only need to dip weekly to clear out any newly hatched adult mites. It sounds as if you are also dealing with a secondary staph infection, so I would also use on days that are not dip days the anti-staph/anti-fungal remedy not as a full body dip, but in a spritz bottle and target the smelly spots. If this regime really dries out the skin I would also bath on alternate days in a soothing oatmeal & lavender shampoo, and also supplement am & pm with Evening Primrose Oil capsule.

As to your concern about them licking the mange remedy, it won't hurt them, actually might help them, and if they manage to lap up a fair bit of it you may see loose stools - but they can in no way 'overdose'; this remedy is *very* safe. It would be a good idea to turn up the space heater and warm the kennel room - or crate the dogs in a smaller room and use the space heater. To ensure the dip gets enough time to *work* make sure you keep them wet in the tub for at least 15-20 minutes [30 is ideal] and then have them sit wet in the crate for another half an hour, and then let them out to air or blow dry after that.